In many industrial and consumer products there is a need to adjust the length of elements. Examples of such elements are telescoping tubes or pipes usually made of metal, but sometimes of other materials.
An example is ladders, scaffolding and props in the building industry, and bicycle seat posts, furniture, walking canes, tent poles, and ski poles in consumer products.
Any situation where there are telescoping elements, it can be an advantage to be able to more reliably secure the elements in a variety of positions relative to each other.
Present mechanisms act to secure the elements in a fixed position. An example is the twist lock on a ski pole where a friction bush secures the elements, by being compressed by rotation.
Often a clamp is used to reduce the diameter of the outer of the two telescoping elements. Another securing mechanism uses a grub screw or threaded bolt or threaded T-bar tool to lock up against the inner telescoping element.
In industrial situations it is very important that the fixing is very secure, as failure could lead to injury or death to people in the vicinity.
Securing mechanisms require the operator to have enough strength and knowledge to use the tools provided in the correct way to achieve a safe connection between the elements. For example a grub screw or bolt, if insufficiently tightened, may allow the components to telescope or rotate under load or stress.
Many of the mechanisms that exist now require several components and are unnecessarily heavy or complicated, which of course makes them more expensive to produce.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.